Washington, May 4: As the impasse continued over the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump has said his country’s military will “support” ‘Project Freedom’ from today to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the maritime critical for global energy supplies.
Iran reacted strongly to this declaration, saying “Any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire.”
“Countries from all over the World, almost all of which are not involved in the Middle Eastern dispute going on so visibly, and violently, for all to see, have asked the United States if we could help free up their Ships, which are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz, on something which they have absolutely nothing to do with — they are merely neutral and innocent bystanders,” Trump posted on his social media handle
“For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business…
“I have told my Representatives to inform them that we will use best efforts to get their Ships and Crews safely out of the Strait… This process, Project Freedom, will begin Monday morning, Middle East time…,” he added.
The US military’s Central Command, deployed in the West Asian waters, said, “The mission, directed by the President, will support merchant vessels seeking to freely transit through the essential international trade corridor. A quarter of the world’s oil trade at sea and significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer products are transported through the strait.”
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said, “Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade.”
Last week, the U.S. Department of State announced a new initiative, in partnership with the Department of War, to enhance coordination and information sharing among international partners in support of maritime security in the strait.
The Maritime Freedom Construct aims to combine diplomatic action with military coordination, which will be critical during Project Freedom.
U.S. military support to Project Freedom will include guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members.
Reacting to this, Head of National Security Commission of Iran Ebrahim Azizi said, “Any American interference in the new maritime regime of the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the ceasefire. The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf would not be managed by Trump’s delusional posts! No one would believe Blame Game scenarios!”
Meanwhile, reports said the new move of the US will not necessarily include its Navy ships escorting commercial ships.
Rather, these Navy ships will be “in the vicinity” in case they need to prevent Iran’s military from attacking commercial ships moving through the strait
The U.S. Navy is going to provide commercial ships with information on the best maritime lanes in the strait especially when it comes to using lanes that were not mined by the Iranian military, the reports said. (NVI)
